What Carla Mathis Really Knows About Art & Individual Style

Understanding your individual style starts with recognizing what you already know: what beauty is.

My mentor spent decades proving that the images we’re drawn to aren’t random: they reveal who we are and how we should dress. Today I’m sharing what she taught me about the connection between aesthetic preference and individual style, and how this wisdom changed everything about my approach.

In this article, I’m sharing something from my own training that fundamentally changed how I help women discover their individual style. It comes from a woman who wrote the book, literally, on using artistic principles in getting dressed.

Her name is Carla Mathis, and what she understood about the connection between aesthetic preference and individual style is something most people in this industry have completely missed.

And Carla isn’t just a teacher. She is a lovely human being. She texted me every single day with prayer and encouragement when my husband was in the hospital.

The Triumph of Individual Style

For those unfamiliar with Carla Mathis, let me give you some context.

Carla wrote The Triumph of Individual Style (aff, link), a book about how to use artistic principles in getting dressed, treating the person as an artistic composition. This wasn’t about following trends or body type rules. It was about understanding the universal principles that make art beautiful and applying them to how you present yourself.

But Carla didn’t just write about theory. She has worked with thousands of clients over decades, doing both style and color consultations. 

And through all that client work, she made a discovery that would eventually change my entire approach to individual style: What people like aesthetically is what looks like them.

Think about that for a moment. What you’re drawn to aesthetically—the images that move you, the art that speaks to you, the scenes that make you pause—these aren’t random preferences. They’re revealing something essential about who you are and how you should dress.

My Training Journey with Carla

I started training with Carla in 2012 through her distance learning program.

Now, when I say “distance learning,” this wasn’t a quick online course. The style portion alone was about four times as much technical material as the color training. We’re talking comprehensive education in artistic principles, body geometry, proportion, scale, texture—all the elements that make up a complete style system.

I earned my certification in style and color from Carla in 2014, but my education didn’t stop there. I worked with Carla as an assistant and apprentice, particularly in the early days of doing color work online. I did a lot of virtual color palettes with her, and this is where I really got to see her process up close.

Here’s what set Carla apart: I have multiple colleagues who started with just the color part of her training and never finished. They got overwhelmed or didn’t see it through.

But I started with the style training, and that foundation made all the difference. My skills in understanding body geometry, proportion, and artistic principles are pretty comprehensive compared to what most of my clients have experienced with other stylists, and that’s directly because of how Carla taught me to see.

What Is the Best Way to Find Your Individual Style?

Now let me explain what made Carla’s color process unique and how it connects to discovering individual style.

Most color analysts use draping: they put different colored fabrics near your face to see which ones harmonize with your natural coloring. Carla did something different. She used what she called “visual favorites” instead of draping.

Here’s how it worked:

Clients would bring in images they loved—not pictures of clothing, but images from art, nature, scenic vistas, lifestyle photography. Beautiful things that moved them for reasons they often couldn’t articulate.

Carla would look at those images and see two things simultaneously: the mood and the technical details.

She might look at a grand scenic vista and say, “You need to have an element of grandeur in your wardrobe.” She could identify the color palette in the images and understand which of those colors should go into the client’s personal color palette.

She was reading both the emotional resonance and the technical composition.

What she understood, and what I watched her demonstrate with client after client, is that the images we’re drawn to contain the technical elements that will look harmonious on us. Our aesthetic preferences aren’t separate from our physical form; they’re connected.

This is where I learned that starting with what you love aesthetically is the most effective way to discover your individual style.

What This Means for Your Individual Style

Think about what Carla discovered through decades of client work: What people like aesthetically is what looks like them.

This is profound when you really sit with it.

It means that your style confusion isn’t because you have bad taste or don’t understand the rules. It’s because you’ve been taught to ignore your own aesthetic preferences in favor of expert formulas.

Carla’s approach honored something essential: you already know what beauty is. You recognize it when you see it.

And when you’re drawn to certain images, certain color combinations, certain moods and atmospheres—that’s not random. That’s information about your authentic individual style.

How Can Understanding Artistic Principles Help You Discover Your Style?

When you understand proportion, scale, color harmony, contrast, and visual balance, and then learn to recognize these elements in the images you’re naturally drawn to, you start to see that your aesthetic preferences are actually a map to your individual style.

If you’re interested in learning more about how your personal energy connects to color, you can download a free guide called the Guide to Seasonal Energy & Personality Colors.

The Seed of My Own Innovation

Now, after a few years of doing just what I had learned from Carla, I had an epiphany, I think God gave me this insight, about inverting the entire process.

What if we started with the images? What if, before we talked about body types at all, we began with what the client loves aesthetically?

I’ll tell you the full story of how that transformation happened in next week’s episode, because it led to something I call The Aesthetic Mirror—a completely different way of discovering your individual style that starts with beauty instead of rules.

But I want you to understand where it came from: Carla’s fundamental insight that what you love aesthetically reveals who you are. I just took that insight and moved it to the very beginning of the journey.

Because starting with what you love aesthetically is the most effective way to discover your individual style.

The Aesthetic Mirror: A New Way to Discover Your Individual Style

Next week, I’m going to share how The Aesthetic Mirror works and why it’s such a powerful experience.

But I want to tell you about it briefly now, because you might be thinking: “This sounds exactly like what I need.”

The Aesthetic Mirror is a private online gathering where you bring 3-4 fun and supportive friends or family members. Each person brings images they love, that resonate visually. 

Then the group gives feedback on what they see in the image. It’s like a collective brainstorming session to uncover patterns, themes, and deeper meaning in your aesthetic. I guide the process, helping you connect the dots.

And here’s what’s remarkable: the group almost always names specific qualities in the image that end up being personal qualities of the individual who brought it. It’s very affirming.

Everyone walks away with a clearer sense of their personal aesthetic and a pre-built seasonal energy color palette. The cost is $97 per guest, and as the host, you attend free.

If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, reach out to me through the contact form below or email hello@signaturestylesystems.com to schedule a date.

Begin Today to Discover Your Individual Style

So here’s what I want you to take away from this article: The images that move you aren’t random. The art you’re drawn to, the colors that make you pause, the scenes that feel like home, these are all telling you something about your individual style.

Next week I’m going to share how I took that foundation and created something new: a process that puts your aesthetic preferences at the very front of style discovery. It’s called The Aesthetic Mirror, and it’s changed how my clients experience finding their individual style.

Find a piece of art or an image you’re really drawn to—something that makes you pause and think “That’s beautiful.” It could be a painting, a photograph, a nature scene, anything visual that moves you.

Then look in your closet and see if you can create an outfit that captures the same feeling, mood, or energy as that image. You’re not trying to match it literally—you’re trying to capture its essence.

Have you been collecting style advice from different experts but still feel like something’s missing? Do you have a closet full of clothes but nothing that truly feels like you?

The Aesthetic Mirror helps you discover your individual style by starting with what you already love aesthetically—creating clarity about who you are and how you want to show up in the world.

Unlike traditional style consultations that start with rules and measurements, The Aesthetic Mirror begins with beauty. You and 3-4 supportive friends each bring one image you love, and through guided group reflection, you’ll uncover patterns and themes that reveal your authentic aesthetic. It’s affirming, collaborative, and based on the wisdom my mentor Carla Mathis taught me: what you love aesthetically is what looks like you.

You’ll walk away with immediate value: a clearer sense of your personal aesthetic and a pre-built seasonal energy color palette. As the host, you attend free while your guests invest $97 each. Plus, this can be the beginning of a deeper journey with my comprehensive Style DNA program if you choose.

Ready to gather your people and discover your aesthetic together? Email hello@signaturestylesystems.com to inquire about scheduling your private Aesthetic Mirror party. Let’s start with beauty instead of rules.